Hey there,

I am almost ready to shoot some epoxy primer with my new Porter Cable HVLP gun. I am hesitant as this is my first time and I am not sure what to expect in terms of outcome. I am especially conscious of overspray. Even though its an HVLP gun, it was only $100 @ Lowes. What am I in for? How would I prep my garage or could I just shoot this stuff outside? Any and all input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Shoot primer outside. Primer is really thick, so all the overspray will stick to everything you don't want it to, not to mention coat your garage floor. It's just easier outside, dries really fast, bugs don't seem to get stuck to primer, and being outside its a little safer on your lungs. Primers still have really bad components just like paints do, and eventually they will cause cancer. So it pays to be nice to your lungs.

I learned something. Even though it's "just primer", try to lay it down as smooth as you can. I wasn't too careful and didn't care about the angle of the gun. Big mistake. Sanding really rough primer takes a while. The smoother you can lay it down the less sanding you'll have to do.
I was scared the first time I used my new gun too. My hand was actually shaking a little. Pulled the trigger and a few blobs of paint fell out. I forgot to turn on the air pressure at the gun.:)
Good luck!

Spray it outside if the locals don't care. Mask up the parts of the car that don't need the primer with two layers of newspaper and go to town. Spray it on thick. If you have a high build urethane primer you will be hard pressed to get a run in it. It will take a few seconds of holding the gun 8" away and not moving to get a run in the stuff. Try it on a piece of cardboard. By the way, runs are easier to sand out of primer than dry spray.